DVD Reviews

Entourage: The Complete Fourth Season

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The boys return for a fourth season, as Vinny Chase continues his ascent to superstardom. This year begins with the foursome deep in South America filming their passion project Medellin; but the egomaniacal director Billy Walsh is causing delays and E is struggling to keep the production on budget. After production wraps and the guys return to LA, they must create buzz for the film - despite highly-publicised rumours of a troubled shoot. But Billy won't let anyone see the finished movie, so Ari (Piven) is forced, once again, to try to bag his star client work, despite the uncertainty surrounding his latest endeavour.
Serialised television really doesn't get much better than this. Entourage may not have the scope or ambition of other HBO hits, like The Wire or The Sopranos, but this is still one of the most addictive series to ever grace our TV screens. Its twenty-four minute running time is callously short, so watching just one episode is nigh-on impossible. This season sees the genius (but grating) director Billy Walsh appear in almost every episode, and he becomes an incessant thorn in the side of E, who grows increasingly sick of taking his crap and hilariously snaps at one point. Ari is his usual foul-mouthed, sardonic self ("No, Lloyd, a good day is when your wife eats box for your birthday. This is a great day"), and his relationship with his brilliantly-played assistant is just one season highlight amongst many. Piven is excellent as always, and actually gets to show some depth this season, as Ari's son's school predicament causes him to act out-of-character. Johnny Drama, meanwhile, is fast becoming one of the best things about this show, and the image of him in a bear costume will be forever etched into our comedic consciousness. It's also a sterling season for cameos, as Anna Faris pops up and becomes a client of E's, while M. Night Shyamalan plays a version of himself that may actually have been somewhat toned-down. One of the strongest seasons so far, this DVD is a must-purchase for fans and newbies alike.

Review by Mike Sheridan